Tunji Babajide Banjo (born 19 February 1960) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...

and the

Nigeria national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in Men's international Association football, football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations (Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON) winners, w ...

Biography

Tunji Babajide Banjo was born on 19 February 1960 in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London, and played schoolboy football for Brent, Middlesex and London Schools before joining

as an apprentice in 1977. After two substitute appearances, including an appearance in the 1978 FA Cup semifinal against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, Banjo made his full debut in the first team in a 3–0 win against Burnley on 18 April 1978 and went on to make 27 league appearances for Orient. He was released in May 1982 and joined Cypriot club

where he suffered a bad ankle injury. He returned to Orient for the 1987–88 season as a non-contract player but made no further appearances for the club. Banjo was eligible for the

through his father and made his international debut against

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

in 1980. He gained a total of seven caps for Nigeria.

References

Living people English men's footballers Nigerian men's footballers English Football League players Leyton Orient F.C. players AEL Limassol players English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Men's association football midfielders 1960 births Footballers from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea People from Kensington 20th-century Nigerian sportsmen {{Nigeria-footy-midfielder-stub